Golf club



W. KIDD GOLF CLUB Filed May- 24 1923 April 28,1925; 1,535,670

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UNIT-ED STATES WILLIAM Kgrnpgor MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. l

' GOLF CLUB.

Application ined may 24, 1eeaffseriaino. `641,135.

To all whom t may @caca/'nik Be it known that I, IVILLIAM Kinn, a citizen of the Kingdom of Great Britain, re-` siding in -Minneapolis county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, U. S. A., have 1nvented certain new and useful. Improvep ments in Golf Clubs` of which the follow,-

ing is a specification.

The object of my invention iste provide a vgolf club having a striking facewhich will firmly hold a golf ball against slipping or skidding when contact takes place between the face of theclub and the cover` of the ball, as when the ball and clubface are wet, and at the same time will not damage or mar the cover or painton-the ball.

A further object is to provide a non-skidding ball-striking faceV `for the club head which will not add materially to the expense of manufacture but will be very effective for the purpose designed;

A further object" is to provide a nonfskid.- ding face `which can be applied to a metal or wooden head as desired.

Other objects ofl the `invention will ap.-

pear from the following` `detailed descripf tion.

The invention `consists generally in va- V rious constructions and combinations all as Jil) Vhereinafter `described pointed out in the claims. y

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure'l is a perspective view of a. metal golf club head embodying .my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view onthe line 2-2 of `Figure l;

and particularly Figure 3 is a perspective View showing my invention applied to the face of a Wooden club head. Y p

In the drawing, 2 represents the bladepof a metal club head having at one end ashank 3 providedwith a socket forv the insertioir swing of the club andimpartto the ball a rotary movement in a backward direction while the loft or lay-back of the club fare provides for the lift or elevation of the ball from the ground. Sometimes iii-place of ribs running lengthwise of the club face, projections of` various forms are provided having substantially the same function as the ribs; namely, that of imparting a back.- spin to the ball when it meetsthestriking face of the club. These ribs and projections of different kinds I havefoun'd to be obje-c* tionable as they tend to cut, scratch, or'.`

otherwise mar the surface of the ball and its cover, throwingl it out of its true spherical form andvcausing it to roll unevenly in putting. Furthermore, the use of projections or protuberances on the club face frequentlyV damages the ball to 'such an extent that it not only prevents itV from putting `well but interferes with its flight through the air. y

In -inyY invention, I have discarded entirely all ribs, projections or protuberances of any kind and in place thereof, I provide a series of cup-shaped depressions or recesses 6 in the striking face of the club. These depressions are preferably circular in form and rounded at the bottom and have fiat areas or surfaces 7 between them as shown plainly in Figure l; the depressions being formed by means of a drill 0r other suitable tool. I may Aprovide any desired num ber olf the depressions in the face of the club arranging them in such relation that a narrow flat space is provided between the adjacent depressions and there are no sharp or rough surfaces to mar or damage the cover of the ball. y

The 'depressions are of suitable depth so that when the striking face of the club contacts with the ball cover, there will be a certain degree of `suction established, the ball being flattened partially by Contact with the club so that a considerable number of the depressions will be under the iiattened area. of the ball; the number depending of course upon the speed of contact of the strik ing Vface with the ball or the force of the blow. The edges of the depressions may slightly mark the ball cover, indicating the points of contact-of .the ball with the club face but the suction established between the cover -and the depressions will firmly hold the ball, preventing it from skidding or sliding and interfering with the successrof the shot. At the same time, the ball cover will not be damaged'or marred as it frequently is when a grooved or ribbed club face is used or one having a series of projections or protuberances thereon. The depressions may be of any suitable depth preferably as shown in the drawing, as I have found from actual use of the club that the best results are obtained with depressions of the relative arrangement and size shown. The depressions are preferably arranged across the full width of the club-striking face and a suflicient distance longitudinally thereon to insure contact of the edges of the depressions with the ball.

In .Figure 3, I have shown the invention applied to a wooden club head 8 having a. striking face 9 provided with a recess l0 in which a plate 11, preferably metallic,

is secured by suitable means such as screws l2. This plate has a series of depressions Ga therein corresponding to those shown in Figures l and 2; some of the depressions at the ends ofthe plate being of smaller diameter than those near the middle portion thereof, the adjacent depressions being spaced apart forming the fiat surface between them as shown and described with reference to Figure 1. This device applied to a wooden club head insures accuracy of shot, prevents skidding of the ball on the face of the club, particularly when wet, and holds it firmly under normal conditions of use. Furthermore, these depressions are not of suflicient depth to allow soil or other material to accumulate and lodge therein and interfere with the function of the club head. I prefer to use a metal plate to receive the depressions, but any suitable material that is sufliciently dense or hard to prevent the edges of the depressions from wearing rough may be used.

I claim as my invention:

l. A golf club having a ball-striking face provided with a series of recesses or depressions therein7 the club face having flattened areas between such depressions for contact with the surface of the ball, a suction being formed between the ball cover and the Walls of said depressions and preventing skidding or sliding of the ball thereon when the ball is flattened by the impact of the club face.

Vf2. A golf club having a ball-striking face provided with a series of socket-like depressions or recesses extending into the club face and spaced apart in the surface of such face, the edges of said depressions contacting with the ball cover and preventing skidding or sliding of the ball thereon when it is flattened by contact with the club.

3. A golf club having a ball-striking face provided with a seriesiof circular socketllike depressions or recesses extending into the club face and spaced apart in the surface of such face, the edges of said depressions contacting with the ball cover and preventing skidding or sliding of the ball thereon when it is temporarily Aflattened by contact with the club face.

4. As a new article of manufacture` a golf club head having a metallic striking face provided with a group of depressions or recesses extending into the club head and forming a series of suction pockets and preventing sliding or skidding of the ball thereon when struck and flattened by the club.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of May 1923.

WILLIAM KIDD. 

